Redman’s Lucky Charm

Layne Redman, originally from the UK, moved to the UAE in 2002. Apart from being a brilliant anchor, Redman is also an actor, writer, sports enthusiast and brand ambassador for various products. He has been successfully hosting a popular show “Out & About” on a local channel since 2008.

Petigree meets the famous television presenter and his family to find out more about their dog Gooshi.

^{Photography: Herbert Iponla}

The Petigree team was ‘out and about’ on a sunny afternoon, looking forward to what was to come. We were very excited to do our first-ever celebrity interview, in this part of the world. We were warmly received by Layne, his beautiful wife Natalie, and his adorable little daughter, Nalaya. Multi-talented and extremely down to earth, Redman is as charming in person as he is on television.

Gooshi, Redman’s Tibetan Terrier, nervously sniffed around our feet and quickly got comfortable with the team. With all settled, I got the chance to chat with Layne about Gooshi, and his experience in Dubai.

Tell us about how you found Gooshi and how long you have had him.
Gooshi is a rescued dog. He came to Dubai from Iran, with the family who had him initially. However, the family was unable to look after him so Gooshi ended up at a lady’s house who fosters animals and finds them suitable homes. She contacted us, as I was on the list of people who were interested in fostering pets. This was about six years ago and Gooshi has been with us since.

Tibetan Terriers tend to be dominating and like to make their own rules. How true is that about Gooshi and what is his nature like otherwise?
Well yes, that is kind of true. He is a grown-up dog so he knows what he wants. He is an obedient dog otherwise. Since Gooshi is a rescued dog, and we were told his previous owners abused him, he is a very scared dog. He tends to get more uncomfortable around men as opposed to women. A dog psychologist told us that this was probably because Gooshi was abused by the male member of the family that initially had him. So he sometimes gets very defensive and barks a lot, but he is great otherwise and can be very affectionate too.

What does Gooshi’s diet consist of?
Hotel slippers! He loves those. He likes to chew on them, so I need to be careful to keep them away from him [laughs]. We give him regular dog food, mostly the dry variety. However, the water he drinks needs to be ice cold and fresh. He will not drink it otherwise. He will just sniff it and walk away if it is regular temperature water. So we make sure he has ice-cold water all the time.

It is said that this breed needs an adequate amount of exercise to avoid certain health issues. Does Gooshi get his daily exercise?
Not really. We take him for a walk at the beach on the weekends. During the summer, he just likes to relax in the garden. He does not enjoy walking in the heat. However, the younger ones are more energetic and do need more exercise. Gooshi is old now, so he mostly likes to chill out around the house. Tibetan Terriers enjoy the cooler weather. That is probably in his DNA too, since he is from Tibet [laughs].

How old is Gooshi and has he had any health issues since you have had him?
Well, no one knows how old he is. We took him to the vet when we got him first and asked them about his age. They said he looked quite young since he had really white teeth. Luckily he has not had any health issues since we have had him. He just visits the vet for his routine vaccinations and that’s about it.

Is he troublesome when he goes for his regular grooming or has he gotten used to the groomers?
He has gotten used to them. They are familiar with his character now and know how to handle him. He does give them trouble sometimes and needs to be sedated to be groomed, but he has gotten a lot better now. We do bathe him at home too. That gets difficult sometimes though. We need to pick him up to bathe him and he does not allow anyone to pick him up. He has to voluntarily jump onto you. So if he ever does that, we just quickly put him in the bath.

How is Gooshi around Nalaya and the other kids?
He is great around Nalaya. We had him all through Natalie’s pregnancy. So when we brought Nalaya home, Gooshi just knew that she was family. He is possessive about her. If there are men around or someone is trying to play with Nalaya, he gets defensive and starts barking a lot. We just have to tell him that it is okay and he needs to calm down. He is not very comfortable around other kids though. He just goes and hides in a corner and would rather not be around them.

Does he interact well with other pets?
He takes his time to get used to them. There was a time when we were looking after the dogs of two of our friends who were travelling. We have four other dogs that we have shipped to our home in France now. One of them, who is also a Terrier, was here with Gooshi for some time. He did get a little cranky around them because he is an old dog and likes to set his ways, but he got used to it after a while.

There is a myth that Tibetan Terriers are considered a ‘lucky charm’ for their owners. How true has that been for you?
Really? That is a very interesting fact! Well, in that case, yes it has been true to quite an extent. We had Nalaya while we had Gooshi. That would be the luckiest thing that has happened with him around. So yes, I think it has been true.

How do you discipline Gooshi if his behaviour gets unpleasant?
When that time comes, he knows somehow. When he barks a lot or does something to upset us, he just knows. Maybe it is my tone that changes and he notices that. I usually just ask him to go to the bathroom. He does complain when he is asked to do that. He will moan and get grumpy [laughs], but he listens at the end. I think he kind of enjoys his time in the bathroom, quite honestly. He gets some time alone and feels comfortable that no one is watching him constantly.

Like other dogs, does he enjoy playing games? What is his favourite activity?
Yes, he loves to play. His favourite would be a tug of war. He has a really strong jaw and loves tugging at things. So that would be his favourite. He does not enjoy catching very much. There was another Jack Russell Terrier that Natalie rescued and we looked after it for a while. It was interesting to see the dynamics between him and Gooshi. Jack was young and energetic and would always want to play. Gooshi would get tired very soon. That is when I realized Gooshi has become old now.

How long have you been in the UAE? Would you say it is a ‘pet-friendly’ place?
We have been here for eleven years now. We have seen the city transform over the years, and it has only gotten better. It has also become more acceptable for pets and animals now. The pet grooming facilities, the vets and hotels, have all improved a lot over the years. I do wish there were more places where we could walk our dogs though. Also, people are not very conscious about cleaning after their pets when they take them out for a walk. I wish there was more awareness regarding that issue as well.

You are a sports enthusiast and are quite well informed regarding the sports scene in this part of the world too. What would you say regarding the progress of the people here as far as sports is concerned?
You see, this country is so multicultural! It has that blend of everything in it. My background is West Indies and there, it is all about cricket. In the UK, it is football. Over here, there is a majority of Indians and Pakistanis, who are into cricket. Then a lot of other nationalities are into basketball, handball, and various other sports, but I would say football is the national sport here. Having said that, Dubai is still very young as far as sports are concerned. It has and will get better though. Bigger and better.

Tell us 5 things that you love about having Gooshi as a pet.
The first would be the love-hate relationship I share with Gooshi, where I say ‘I am the man!’ and he says ‘No, I’m the man!’ [laughs].

Second, the way he is setting his ways all the time. He knows what he wants and he knows how to get it.

Third, I love the way he looks, especially when he is groomed. He looks like a baby Labrador.

Fourth, I like his breed as I am allergic to certain types of cat and dog fur, but the fur from this breed of dog does not bother me. So I like that a lot.

Fifth, I like that he keeps himself clean. He is very similar to a cat like that where he licks himself to make sure he is clean all the time. I have a sixth one too, and this is true about all dogs. I love the fact that they are your friends and can be relied upon. I love how Gooshi is very protective of Nalaya, and he would come to our defence if it were ever needed.